The standing independent counsel investigating allegations of "discarding banknote band slips" summoned prosecutor Choi Jae-hyeon, who investigated the case of Geonjin Jeon Seong-bae, to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office on the 30th as a suspect.
According to legal sources, the independent counsel on this morning was conducting the first suspect interrogation of Prosecutor Choi, who is accused of inciting destruction of evidence and dereliction of duty. The independent counsel is said to be checking whether Choi ordered an investigator to discard the Bank of Korea bundle stickers and band slips, and whether there are indications that they discussed or colluded to conceal the loss or disposal.
The probe stems from how the band slips and stickers—marked with the inspection date, person in charge, and department—went missing from stacks of cash, including Bank of Korea bundled notes worth about 50 million won, seized when the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office searched Jeon's home in Dec. 2024. The independent counsel is also looking into whether the band slips and stickers were deliberately discarded under orders from the Southern District Prosecutors' Office chain of command.
In connection with this, on the 20th the independent counsel reportedly searched the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, where Prosecutor Choi works, and secured his mobile phone and other items. The search targets are said to have included the PCs of the investigative team leader and an investigator in the seizure unit who were involved in the investigation and management of seized items at the Southern District Prosecutors' Office. On the 22nd, Choi appeared before the independent counsel to observe the forensic examination of his phone.
At a National Assembly hearing in September last year, Prosecutor Choi rebutted the criticism that "the loss of banknote band slips and other items amounts to intentional destruction of evidence," saying, "The hearing is proceeding on the premise that the prosecution intentionally destroyed and concealed evidence, but that is not true." Later in October the same year, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office released findings that, while there was operational negligence in the management of the bundled notes, there was no instruction from higher-ups to conceal evidence.
The independent counsel is also said to be reviewing whether there were problems in the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's inspection and investigation process at the time. On the 2nd, the independent counsel reportedly searched the information and communications division of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and secured inspection materials and messenger records of officials at the Southern District Prosecutors' Office. The independent counsel is said to plan to soon summon a senior official at the Southern District Prosecutors' Office who was in Prosecutor Choi's chain of command to verify the facts of the allegations.